Between Worlds
by Jessamine Kaldwin
Summary: All Valerie wanted was to exploit a glitch in the game - the consequence? Chaos and the revelation that parallel worlds exist. Because there's more to saving an Empress than a few mouse clicks and pressing 'C' to go into stealth mode. Or - how a fan gets thrown into her favorite video game and has to navigate her way through a city filled with death traps.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm not new to writing stories, I've just never done fanfictions so this is a first. ;) This has been on my mind for a while now and I hope some people out there find what I do interesting enough to keep reading._  
 _I'm happy for every feedback I'll get, but I write mainly for my own pleasure and because this would be something I'd like to read as well (topic-wise)._

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Family. I don't know why this is the first word that comes to mind when I think back to the day I was miraculously pulled into a video game – no, not just any game; Dishonored. Sounds like a good plot for a fanfiction, right? It is, or would be, if I were still in possession of my oh so beloved laptop. Since I'm not, all I can do is write everything down in the notebook Sokolov gave me last week. The perfect gift for a young lady with too much going on in that pretty little head of hers, he called it.

Speaking of family, Sokolov has become something like the weird uncle I never had. Always good for a laugh and a hell of a lot of great stories, making for a good companion, if you ignore is occasional outbursts of brilliancy – too brilliant even for a twenty-first century girl with over one hundred hours playing a game about Sokolov's world!

I could start my story by mentioning how tragically I lost my own family in a plane crash many years ago and how heartbroken that's left me, but I won't. Because, if you asked me about my parents, I wouldn't be able to remember them at all – not their faces or their voices, not even my mom singing me a lullaby. In some way, I often felt like Harry Potter – except that I hadn't been raised by my abusive relatives who wanted nothing to do with me, but in a small orphanage with caring and gentle people surrounding me. The only thing that really irked me was when someone expressed their condolences about me losing my family, that it had to be really tough to grow up without my parents. It wasn't. You can't miss what you don't know. End of the story. Did it make me a less emphatic person compared to others? No. I'd had the same lovely birthdays, the same Christmases… My family merely consisted of different people, not the typical mother-father-child-combination.

Of course, life wasn't always peachy for me – which is the same for everyone, I guess – and to escape reality, because it tends to be boring and awful at times, I used to just sit in front of my computer, completely absorbed in whatever video game I had chosen for the day. Though my favorite – with a huge margin to the second place finisher – was called Dishonored. I really enjoyed games with a good storyline, similar to a good book that you can't put away until you've found out every last secret, and I definitely had a knack for conspiracies and drama. Dishonored pretty much covered them all. The only thing I wasn't happy with? The very unspectacular death of the Empress five minutes into the prologue. Not because it reminded me of myself, but because I thought that it was brutal to make a young girl watch her mother die and then be kidnapped by a bunch of strangers, only to be used to their political advantage. And, like every devoted Dishonored fan, I started looking for a way to slightly alter the prologue a little, which is how my story actually begins.

It was a rainy day, awfully windy and too cold to even consider leaving the comfortable warmth of my tiny apartment. Tiny, because it literally only had two rooms; a small bathroom and everything else perched together in a total space of 25 square meters. The only thing separating my bed from the kitchen was a white IKEA bookshelf stuffed to the brim with practically all my belongings other than clothes. Despite the tight space, I liked to keep my little home neat – not to the extent where it could be considered obsessive, but I liked to wake up to a clean environment in the morning.

On this particular day, I made myself a cup of steaming tea – cinnamon and baked apple, my favorite – and settled down at my desk, getting comfortable for a long round of gaming. It was the perfect opportunity for me to search for a way to avoid getting the Empress killed five minutes into playing Dishonored and for some reason I was more excited about the idea than I was curious to see whether it would actually work. Patiently waiting for my computer to load the game, I absentmindedly sipped at my tea, imagining what a future in Dunwall could be like, if Jessamine Kaldwin didn't die. Perhaps it would be less dark, less bloody – the political intrigues would probably still remain, as well as the plots to overthrow another noble just to gain that extra inch of power. Emily would be raised by a loving mother and a super athletic father who also happened to be the Lord Protector, Hiram Burrows would probably remain the Empire's Spymaster and continue to try to get rid of his Empress somehow. Or maybe Corvo would find the necessary evidence that would get the other man behind bars, possibly facing execution for his crimes.

The main menu popped up with the all too familiar Dishonored soundtrack playing in the background as I chose to start a new game, not caring about the difficulty level being set on hardcore. I didn't plan on playing any further than the prologue, and even if I did, I'd played the game at least five times and was proud to say that I could handle it.

As the first cutscene began, I waited for the boat to dock and took the passage to Dunwall Tower, heading past the two guards and refusing to play hide and seek with young Emily. An in-game character would hardly have any hard feelings, if the virtual protagonist had better things to do than giving fooling around for their entertainment.

Skipping past Sokolov and High Overseer Campbell, I went straight for the gazebo where the Empress was having a conversation with her Spymaster, a mysterious and dislikeable guy with sharp features and even sharper eyes. Instead of handing over Corvo's letter, however, I tried something I'd read on Google the other day; trying to jump onto the gazebo and glitching onto an invisible plane in mid-air that would make it possible for me to walk over to the rooftops the Whalers would be coming from and kill them before they could do any harm.

It took me several attempts but I finally succeeded, enjoying the additional view I had from being several meters above ground level. I also discovered that Corvo had magically gotten his weapons back, meaning I was fully equipped to get rid of a bunch of unwanted assassins even without the powers of the Outsider. Arriving at the scene, I was met by a very amusing picture – a single guard, who apparently didn't mind me finishing off three men right under his nose, and three potential murderers who didn't even think about fighting back. Coming to Daud, however, and it was probably just one of my stupid outbursts of sympathy, I remembered the guilt and pain he'd felt after killing the Empress – should I really do the same to him? Maybe, if I only used a sleeping dart on him and moved him somewhere else he wouldn't come back and Corvo had enough time to get Jessamine and Emily to safety?

I admitted that I was probably putting way too much thought into this, but playing a video game was like writing a story – everyone did it their way, creating many different outcomes for the same plot.

I put Daud to sleep and carried him up the roof and back onto my invisible plane, while looking for a good spot to drop him. Funnily enough, the range of my newly found platform was enormous and I actually found a promising-looking entrance to the sewers down at the docks. The only problem I now had was getting back onto my invisible plane after dropping off an unconscious Daud – easier said than done, because it took almost thirty minutes to find a way up the steep rocks leading to a stonewall. From there on, I managed to glitch several meters into the air again, making my way back to where the Empress was still waiting for me in the gazebo. Surprised to find that I could apparently still hand over the letter, I curiously let things unfold, only to learn that my little adventure caused the screen to turn black as soon as the assassins should've had their entrance.

It was somewhat disappointing to have worked so hard – I'm being lenient on the definition of the word 'hard' here, I know – to save the Empress and not even being rewarded with an achievement. All I got was a pitch-black computer screen with the occasional sound of in-game music reaching my ears, which meant that Dishonored was still up and running.

I was about to press the home button on my keyboard, when a sudden feeling of nausea and dizziness hit me without warning.

"Woah," I said, taken aback by the ferocity of it and grabbing my desk for support. "What the hell…?"

I blinked several times and the world stopped spinning for a moment. I'd never experienced anything like this before, a few migraines or nausea from eating too much, yes, but not out of the blue and certainly not this intense.

That moving to my bed was probably a good idea was the last thought on my mind before I felt my knees grow weak and then things got dark, really, really dark – and weird.

It started like a dream, a rather strange one, but a dream nonetheless, because the place I was suddenly finding myself in couldn't possibly me real. I was surrounded by staircases that lead to nowhere, rocks and street lanterns floating in the air, water that was flowing upwards as if gravity had reversed its own rules. Nothing seemed quite right in this place and left me more confused than ever, and, yet, there was something indescribable in the air. Something, which pulled me down like a heavy weight but at the same time made the space around me feel light and strangely void of emotion, thought and life.

 _Void…_ I blinked and slowly turned to look around. It all seemed to familiar… Was this the Void? The place felt so… unreal and real at the same time and it made my pulse quicken, my heart clenching painfully inside my chest.

It was a dream, wasn't it? I had no other logical explanation for what was going on, but something in my mind protested against the thought that the only answer to that question was yes. The Void only existed in a video game! This wasn't real. It couldn't be.

What made me hesitate, however, was that the usual drowsiness I felt while dreaming was definitely missing. Instead, my head felt clear and my senses were very aware of my surroundings – the faint smell of sea water, the strange humming sound emitting from the curious dark-grey rocks floating in the air – so much so that I immediately sensed the presence of someone behind me.

"It is a pleasure, Valerie, to make your acquaintance at last," I heard him say in a calm tone.

I froze. I knew that voice. It was _his_ voice, but he couldn't be here.

Swallowing hard and finding the courage I needed, I turned around to face him. "Is this a… a dream?"

It was an odd question to start the conversation with, deep in my mind I knew it was and that there were probably a thousand other things I could have said, but it was all my mouth was capable of forming in that moment. Logically thinking, I should be backing away from him, knowing who I was facing.

 _Relax, this isn't real,_ I kept on reminding myself. _You fainted, it can happen, you're only dreaming – when you wake up, you'll be in your apartment. No Void, no Outsider, nothing but you and your computer._

"Reality is relative, isn't it?" The Outsider said with a mysterious smile. "And to answer your first question – is it a dream when you're awake?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I knew him enough to know that he liked to talk in riddles and it was a damn good question.

"I could be daydreaming…" I began lamely. "Or it is because I just spectacularly fainted and am dreaming about the last thing I did today… which was playing Dishonored, which means that you're just a pigment of my imagination. None of this is real and none of this will matter when I wake up."

I sounded very sure of myself, but all of that confidence was shattered to pieces when he simply flashed me a smile, hands clasped behind his back.

"That, young Valerie, is for me to know and you to find out. Now," the Outsider continued, his black eyes observing me with keen interest and it made me shudder. "On to more pressing matters. I must admit that, until recently, I have not even been aware of your existence. A careless mistake on my part? Perhaps. Only time will tell us for sure."

I raised an eyebrow, something I've always been proud of being able to do. If what he'd just told me was true and this really was the Void – as unlikely and ridiculous as it seemed – why hadn't he known about me in the first place? As far as I remembered, the Outsider was aware of everything that went on in his world… _Woah, wait a second – does that mean I was born in a different one? Like all the parallel universes in Bioshock Infinite?_

"Yes," he said out loud. "Although I do not know what you are referring to, this was my exact thought when certain events suddenly strayed so far off their destined course, that even I had not seen it coming. Imagine my surprise when I discovered _you_ to be the source behind all of it." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in, but I was so baffled by the idea of another reality in existence that I didn't even try to interrupt him. "You intrigue me, Valerie. You have no connection to our world whatsoever, and yet you find a way to manipulate it with remarkable ease. However, your actions have created an unimaginable chaos in Dunwall that is slowly spreading across the Isles. I will give you the chance to… push things in a certain direction. I find myself to be utterly curious about your person and actions so rest assured that you will be watched throughout your little journey."

I stared at him, mouth open and all. I had about a million questions about how I ended up in the Void and how the hell it was possible to influence a completely different reality by playing a video game. Why hadn't this happened before? Where all the other times I played Dishonored influencing different realities? Would I be able to return to my world once this was over? How on earth was I supposed to survive in a hostile environment with zero fighting experience? I wasn't a killer, I was a twenty-year-old student from the twenty-first century – a kitchen knife was probably the potentially most deadly item I'd ever held in my hands, and it hadn't been to kill but to cut onions or tomatoes…

A mysterious smile made its way across his features again as he turned to walk away but looked back over his shoulder one last time. "I'm afraid it is time to wake up, young lady…"

* * *

 _The glitch is actually real, there's even a video on YouTube. ;) I never tried it myself but thought it would be a funny idea for a fanfiction._


	2. Chapter 2

_I hope you liked the first chapter but based on the lack of reviews and visits, I guess not too many people are interested in reading this. It's okay, I'll keep uploading for those of you who do like it. :) I'll try to update regularly but I can't make any promises..._

 _That said, enjoy the second chapter and write a review to let me know what you think._

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Within the split of a second, the world around me dissolved into nothingness, only leaving behind a feeling of the familiar drowsiness of sleep and stench of rotting flesh and foul water.

Involuntarily, I wrinkled my nose at the bad smell, wishing for it to go away but it lingered. I was sure that I hadn't left any food laying around in my apartment so that's not where it was coming from – and… rotting flesh? I didn't store corpses in my home!

Groaning, I stretched my aching muscles. I must have spent more time on the floor since my fainting spell than I'd thought. The next thing I realized, however, was that the ground beneath me was hard and uneven and not at all like the soft mattress of my bed. I stilled in my movement; something was definitely off.

Then I remembered the strange dream – or whatever it'd been – and the Outsider's words: " _I will give you the chance to push things in a certain direction._ "

"Oh God," I whispered to myself, panic settling in. My first thought was that I'd been kidnapped and was slowly rotting away in some abandoned basement – at least that's what it smelled and felt like.

Swallowing heavily, I opened my eyes. The sight that greeted me was not at all welcoming. The floor was just as I'd felt it earlier; hard and uneven with a damp layer of slick moss. Pipes were running along the walls and ceiling and I could hear the faint sound of water rushing through them, while the foul stench seemed to be coming from the brownish-green soup to my left.

It looked like I was in some kind of underground sewage system… And that's when it hit me – a parallel reality, my conversation with the Outsider… This wasn't a dream, was it? My heartbeat accelerated, my breath quickening – I was in the sewers. _The_ sewers. The ones I'd explored on so many occasions playing as Corvo Attano that the sight was an all too familiar one. At least, I _suspected_ that these were the Dunwall sewers, because as far as I knew, there weren't any accessible in my neighborhood. So, either I had been sleepwalking or this dream hadn't been a dream at all.

The mere thought of physically being in a video game that had more death traps than one could count sent shivers down my spine and I instantly wished I'd never tried to 'save' the Empress in the first place. That's what it was all about, wasn't it? The Outsider had already mentioned that things had strayed terribly off course… Where was the rewind button when you needed one?

I was not ready or equipped at all to wander through any of Dunwall's parts – no weapons, no allies, _no practice_ … I'd never killed, let alone physically hurt anyone in my entire life! How the hell was I supposed to survive in such a hostile environment? How did I even end up here? I mean, you don't just get _pulled into a video game_ like that – magic, perhaps? But magic didn't exist, or did it?

I took a deep breath. "Okay, Val," I slowly said to myself, trying to calm down my racing heartbeat. "You can do this. You know the people, you know the city. They've just added the reality factor. Just… stay calm and think of a way out…"

Staying calm, however, proved to be easier said than done. My heart was playing ping pong in my chest, knowing what I could encounter down in the sewers, knowing that unlike Corvo I had absolutely no way of defending myself.

I looked around.

Less than a meter in front of me, I could see – and smell – the brownish-green water that ran through the sewers. I grimaced at the thought of having to swim in it – I'd never wasted a thought about how disgusting it actually was because, so far, I'd only navigated through the city as an in-game character not as myself. Turning around, a relieved sigh escaped my lips. There, right behind me, was a heavy-looking iron door, which hopefully wasn't locked.

Slowly, I got to my feet, leaning against the damp wall for support when a wave of dizziness hit me.

 _Breathe,_ I thought. _Okay, let's pray that this is my way out of here._

Wobbly, I approached the iron door and put a hand on the handle, the material feeling cold to the touch, and pushed it down.

The door didn't bulge.

"Shit!" I cursed.

Of course, I'd need a key for it! No one left their door to the sewers unlocked.

"Damn it," I swore under my breath and turned to look around for an alternative exit.

I knew from experience that there were always several ways to enter a building or the underground sewers without having to find the key first, it was what made Dishonored such a good stealth game. The only problem right now was that I had absolutely no idea which part of the sewers I was in. They'd all pretty much looked the same to me before and it wasn't any different now.

 _Well, I won't know for sure, if I keep standing here like a fool,_ I thought grimly, even though the idea of exploring this place wasn't really an encouraging one.

I stepped away from the door, my feet being a little bit more supporting now, and carefully peeked around the right corner, then around the left. Knowing of the potential dangers lurking down here, I had no desire to run into a horde of Weepers or even guardsmen without being able to fight back – not that I'd be very effective even _with_ a set of deadly weapons.

To my great luck, there wasn't anyone waiting for me around the corner, where the walkway extended along the dead-looking water to my left – something I was immensely grateful for. Unfortunately, this meant that I could only venture forth in one direction, if I didn't want to go for a swim.

Since I hadn't spotted any enemies, rats included, and wasn't very keen on getting wet, I turned left and followed the walkway down the sewer, using the wall to prevent myself from falling on the slippery underground. There was a pipe right next to me, water rushing through it rapidly, and I wondered, if it would lead me out of this mess of farther into it – though I was desperately hoping for the first! I had absolutely no desire to spend another minute down in the sewers.

I'd been walking for about five minutes, my naked feet wet from the moss-covered stone floor, when the walkway suddenly ended at another corner. Remembering to remain cautious, I peeked around it and found myself facing a dead-end.

"Great," I muttered. "And now what?"

Coincidentally, I glanced upwards to find a sewer hatch right above my head, which would have been great, had it not been out of reach. Corvo would've been able to open it from here, but I lacked a few inches and begrudgingly had to make my way back, hoping to find a key for that blasted door somewhere down here. I prayed that I'd find one because if I didn't, I'd either have to take a bath in Dunwall's sewage water or die of starvation – I was doubtful that there were any fish living in it that I could eat to survive, never mind that I'd drink from out of there.

By the time I reached my earlier spot, my feet were wet and cold due to the lack of shoes. Actually, now that I consciously thought about it, I wasn't wearing any of my regular clothing but thin brown cloth pants and an even thinner white shirt, offering no protection whatsoever against the cold and humid air down here.

 _Great, I'm gonna die from catching a cold because I woke up in a freaking sewage system!_

I had to get out of here, fast. I had no idea where I'd go as soon as I'd reached higher grounds but I desperately wanted to get that horrible smell out of my nose.

The Empress was still alive, so Dunwall might still be a relatively peaceful city, but I couldn't be sure until I saw it with my own eyes. The Outsider had not mentioned with any syllable that Jessamine Kaldwin was doing well – in fact, he hadn't said much about anything other than me wreaking havoc, which wasn't really much to go on.

Maybe I should go to Dunwall Tower and warn Corvo and the Empress that their Spymaster was planning on having her killed. On the other hand, I had no way of knowing, if he was still in office…

Low moaning sounded from somewhere in the sewers before me and I stopped dead in my tracks. I knew that sound. It had always been one of the few things in Dishonored that had really creeped the hell out of me that I'd always tried to avoid. Hearing it now that I was physically in the game myself let my heart beat frantically in my chest as I tried to _think_ and not let the instinct to turn around an run screaming in the other direction take control.

Somewhere around the next corner behind the water were Weepers. Not of them, no. It had to be at least two or three by the sounds of it.

 _Shit, shit, shit! Double shit!_ I cursed inwardly, damning the Outsider and his proclivity for throwing people into a nest of vipers while he himself watched from afar. _What do I do? What do I do? Think, Val, think!_

Had the Weepers been there before and I had just not been able to hear them? What fi they sensed and decided to kill me? It was a bone-chilling thought. I wasn't ready to die, not yet – not that I'd ever be truly ready for it, but to my defense this did come a little bit sudden.

I forcibly told myself to remain calm. If they didn't see or hear me, they wouldn't even know I was down there with them. Unfortunately, this also meant that I wasn't able to look for another exit as long as they didn't move further down the sewers, giving me a chance to explore more of the area.

Following the natural order of things, I'd have roughly around three days to survive without any food or water – a rather depressing end considering I'd been kidnapped from my apartment and thrown into a completely new world against my will.

Not knowing what else to do, I walked back to the iron door I'd stumbled upon several minutes ago, praying that none of the Weepers would hear me – because if they did, I was positively screwed – and pulled at the handle as hard as I could. If someone had added a 'pull' sign somewhere next to it, I probably would have done that in the first place and not put so much force into it at second try because the door opened with a loud bang, knocking me backwards and off balance.

There was silence for a moment and my entire body tensed with anxiousness, before I could hear the moaning getting louder, heavy footsteps splashing through the sewage water.

Without thinking twice, I jumped to my feet and rushed through the door, looking for a way out. But it was so dark, I couldn't even see my own hands before my eyes. There – a faint red light somewhere to my left. The Weepers were closing the distance faster than expected, their heavy breathing and footsteps echoing off the walls.

 _Think, Val, think!_

I decided to move towards the light. My chances of escaping were slim and if I went in the wrong direction, my little adventure would be over before I'd even gotten a first glimpse of Dunwall!

I hadn't taken more than four or five steps when I could suddenly see an opening in the ceiling, a chain hanging only inches above the ground.

"Oh, thank God!" I whispered, darting towards it and grabbing it.

I could hear the Weepers closing in, their moans getting louder. I pulled myself up with all the strength I had, the chain rattling as I climbed up in a desperate attempt to get out of the situation alive.

I'd almost reached the top.

Strong hands suddenly grabbed me from above and I was lifted out of the sewers and roughly pressed against a wall, coming face to face with the barrel of a familiar-looking gun.


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm really sorry for the delay! I got a new gaming computer recently and had to re-install everything twice because something went wrong with the first windows version they gave me... I'm not a computer freak so I have no idea what it was and how they fixed it. haha xD_

 _I have re-written this chapter because I found some logic mistakes in there and hope I've corrected them all. If you find anything, let me know! ;) I also noticed that the chapter is rather long but I didn't want to split it up, so there you go. :)_

 _I hope you'll enjoy reading it and thanks for the positive replies! I'm glad for every review I get to see, if you guys like what I'm doing. :)_

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"Who are you?" A deep voice. Male.

Strong hands were wrapped around my neck, forcing me to look up at my captor. It was ironic, having been rescued from a group of Weepers only to end up being half-choked to death by none other than my savior.

"Valerie," I croaked. "My name is Valerie."

The man looked familiar. Broad shoulders with a gun strapped to the front of his blue coat and the fact that he sounded like John Slattery told me that I was probably facing none other than Farely Havelock himself.

 _Tough luck, Val_ , I thought bitterly. Havelock wouldn't hesitate to break my neck, if he thought I posed a threat to him or his people. He'd done it in the game and he'd do it again now, that I was sure of.

"Where did you come from, girl?" Havelock pressed on. "And what the hell where you doing down in the sewers?"

I swallowed. I couldn't tell him the truth – he wouldn't believe me; no-one would and I didn't want to get in more trouble than I already was in.

"I… I was hiding," I lied, my brain desperately spinning together a story that wouldn't make him want to choke me any further because the hand around my neck was really starting to _hurt_. "From the City Watch. I… I didn't know where I was going most of the time, and then the Weepers found me and – "

"The City Watch is looking for you?" Havelock interrupted, his grip loosening slightly. He cocked his head and studied me for a few moments. "Why?"

Okay… I needed to come up with a story – fast. Why would the City Watch be looking for me? _Think, Val, think!_

"W – we came back from the sea… about three months ago," I stuttered, praying that he'd believe me. "My father and brother contracted the plague shortly after our return. The guards seized our belongings and wanted to throw us on one of the trains heading for the Flooded District, but I managed to escape into the sewers…"

 _Oh God…_ The story was entirely made up and only based loosely on what I remembered from the game. I didn't want to be a criminal who stole from the guards or had committed another kind of legal offense, so my family contracting the plague sounded like the next best explanation – until Havelock opened his mouth again to speak.

"Then you're going right back to where you came from, young lady," he growled, shoving me off the wall and back to the sewer entrance. "Nobody here wants the plague."

"Wait!" I screamed, struggling against his grip. This was not how I'd thought things would go. "No, please don't throw me down to the Weepers! I'm not sick, I don't have the plague! Its been three months and I haven't had so much as a cough! Please!"

I knew I sounded pathetic, but the wish not to die a horrible death had never been this strong in my entire life. That Havelock could possibly conclude that I had contracted the plague as well had totally slipped my mind.

To my great relieve, he paused for a moment, looking me over with a measuring glance.

"Please," I whispered, tears running down my cheeks. As I said, totally pathetic but I couldn't help the wave of raw, naked panic settling into my bones the second he threatened to hand me over to the Weepers.

Apparently, my little sow must have left quite an impression on the old Admiral because he let go of my collar and set me down on the floor.

"You sure you don't have the plague?" He asked in his deep voice and I nodded, rubbing my aching throat. "You look healthy enough, but if I ever find out you've been lying to us, you'll wish you'd stayed with those Weepers instead. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," I answered automatically, knowing that he'd never have to fulfill his threat. Then, I turned my head to look around. "Where are we?"

After being threatened by a former Navy soldier, seeing him smile was a very welcoming change. He put a hand on my shoulder and gently but firmly pushed me along with him.

"We're in the Hound Pits Pub," he explained, leading me through a door on the right and into the Pub. "I imagine that you could use a drink and some food after what you've been through."

I nodded. Well aware of his betrayal later in the game, the sudden trust he showed toward me made me wary but in my current situation I was not going to turn away a helping hand – not even if it belonged to Admiral Havelock. I highly doubted that he'd put a bullet through my head when I wasn't paying attention and right now, I was in a completely new and hostile environment with nowhere to run to. I figured that the Loyalists were my best chance of staying alive long enough to find a way of returning to my own world – as bizarre as this sounded even to my own ears.

I exhaled and followed Havelock through an open door into the next room where another man in a grey coat and lack pants was cleaning dishes behind a bar.

"Wallace!" Havelock shouted. "Bring the girl something to eat and drink, will you."

I'd never particularly liked the servant of the Pendletons even though he did save Cecilia in the low chaos playthrough and watched him bow and leave the room with some curiosity.

"Now," Havelock began, taking a seat at one of the tables, motioning for me to sit down as well. "You told me you had been at sea with your father and brother. What were you doing there?"

 _Oh, no._ Of course, he wouldn't be satisfied with a three-sentence explanation of why I was down in the sewers.

"Well," I started, trying to come up with a good story. "You see, my father and brother both were whalers. When my mother was still alive, they'd go out for months, sometimes an entire year, to catch whales and provide for us. After she died, they always took me with them. I was too small to look after myself and have been on a trawler ever since…"

It sounded plausible enough to me and I was pretty proud of myself for delivering my freshly made-up story without stuttering. One look at Havelock's eyes, however, diminished all of that pride in an instant.

"Women aren't allowed to be whalers," he said, leaning forward. "So, either you're lying about who you are or what you've been doing all those years. Listen, I don't care if you're a criminal. Hell, we all are these days and I can't blame you. But if you want me to believe you, girl, you better be telling the truth."

I swallowed hard. He'd seen right through my lies but I couldn't tell him the truth. I didn't trust him one bit after what he'd done to Corvo and Emily in the game; and who was to say that he wouldn't do it to me as well? The only question was – would he still do it now that the story line had changed?

It wasn't easy but, in the end, I decided that being honest would probably get me further than trying to come up with a lie that I'd have to keep up for the rest of my stay in Dunwall. I just wouldn't go into the details, there was no need for him to know everything and I doubted that any of the Loyalists would even believe my story about a parallel universe.

"I don't have family here," I finally said. "I woke up in the sewers shortly before the Weepers found me and chased me up that chain. I have absolutely no recollection of how I got here. I know we're in Dunwall, I know my way around the city but I haven't been here in a while, so I know nothing about what's going on at the moment."

This was probably the closest to the truth that I could tell people without them getting suspicious.

The Admiral nodded. "Sounds better now. You're not from Dunwall?"

"No," I shook my head. "I wasn't born here but my parents were. They never told me why we left but we came back often to trade."

Sure, I'd decided to stick to the truth as much as I could, but with some things it seemed I didn't really have a choice. Havelock would want to know how I ended up knowing Dunwall and I needed to deliver – failure to do so would very likely throw me back to the Weepers.

"Interesting," Havelock muttered, scratching his chin and I sent out a silent prayer that he'd believe me. "What's the last place you remember before waking up in the sewers?"

Oh, that was an easy one for me. Even though I couldn't mention meeting the Outsider and visiting the Void, I could always tell him what I'd done before that.

"I remember being home and suddenly feeling very dizzy," I explained, a thoughtful frown gracing my features. "I… I think I fainted and when I woke up again, I was in the sewers."

Then, another thought entered my mind.

"What year is it?" I asked, stopping myself just in time before adding a 'Admiral Havelock' at the end. He hadn't introduced himself so far, so there was no way for me to know his name; at least none I could logically explain.

"The Month of Harvest, 1841," Havelock answered, not in the least suspicious about me asking for the date. "You said you haven't been here in a while?"

I nodded. Well, technically, I had never really _been_ to Dunwall before; not physically.

"I was last here early in 1837. It was during the Month of Earth, I believe."

Four years. Four years had passed since I'd saved the Empress from Daud, four long years since Emily had been kidnapped – or maybe the girl still resided in the Tower, along with Corvo and her mother. I had no way of knowing, if my plan to save the Empress had gone well – the Outsider had merely hinted at things straying off course but with no word had he mentioned the fate of Dunwall's latest sovereign, her daughter and Royal Protector.

"And you have no idea what's happened in all the years you were gone?" The Admiral continued his interrogation. "No newspapers or rumors about Dunwall and the plague?"

I was about to reply as Wallace returned with a plate of food and what looked like a can of water. He placed it on the table and then left with a stiff bow, indicating that apparently not all residents at the Hound Pits Pub shared the Admiral's trust in me. To be frank, I couldn't even blame him; I'd probably be wary too, if a complete stranger showed up on my doorstep and claimed to have no memory of how they ended up there or the most important political changes in the last four years. News that had very likely reached even the most remote regions of the Isles.

Returning my attention to the food Wallace had brought, I hadn't even realized how hungry I was until I took the first bite of whatever meat I'd been served. It tasted odd, like nothing I'd ever had before, but it wasn't exactly unpleasant.

"Wallace's the best cook you'll find around here," Havelock said with a chuckle, watching me eat.

I also took a big sip from the water can. It was surprisingly fresh and clean; not the foul taste of river water I had expected, considering that Dunwall lacked all the fancy modern equipment people had in my world.

"Thanks for the food," I said with a small smile, slightly more at ease with the Admiral's relaxed stance. "You never introduced yourself," I added, taking another bite.

"My apologies," Havelock replied, returning my smile. "I'm Admiral Havelock, a true servant of the Empress. Until the Lord Regent purged those of us who wouldn't recognize his claim on the throne."

I remembered those words. He'd said the exact same thing when meeting Corvo for the first time and somehow it was strange to have them directed at me now.

"We've been building a coalition of loyalists, aimed at ending the Lord Regent's tyranny and restoring the throne," he continued.

Had anything changed at all? I had saved the Empress, yet the Lord Regent had taken the throne? On the other hand, the Outsider wouldn't have brought me here, if things had stayed the same…

Also, the Admiral seemed less distant than the in-game version, although I had yet to decide if he could truly be trusted.

"At risk of execution, we're committed to finding young Lady Emily and freeing the Empress from prison," a new voice said from the doorframe. "I'm Lord Pendleton. I represent the nobility in our little group, but we all act as equals here at the Hound Pits Pub."

"The Empress is in prison?" The question was out before I could stop it, but I was so baffled at hearing the news that my mouth acted first.

The Admiral and Pendleton exchanged glances, before Havelock raised his voice.

"She hasn't been here in years, Treavor," he explained. "I don't think she's part of the plot. I fished her out of the sewers before the Weepers could get her. Had no weapons to defend herself either. We need all the help we can get – you might as well tell her."

Lord Pendleton watched me carefully, but he obviously trusted the Admiral's judgement.

"Very well," he said, coming to stand next to our table. "The Empress ordered the Lord Regent and Spymaster, Hiram Burrows, to find the origin of the plague and a possible cure for it. Two years ago, he brought evidence to the public that Empress Jessamine Kaldwin herself planted the plague in the poor regions of the city to solve our poverty problem."

"What!" I exclaimed furiously. "She'd never do that! She cares for her people! I… I heard her talk about trying to find a cure for everyone, not just nobility. That's outrageous!"

I caught myself just in time before saying something I'd later regret. Technically, I'd never really heard the Empress say anything – it had all been in Dishonored's prologue when Hiram Burrows had addressed the topic in the gazebo. Knowing that he was responsible for introducing the plague to Dunwall, the Spymaster had probably tweaked the evidence so that it would look like Jessamine was the one to blame – and all that to gain the power to run things the way _he_ thought was right.

I hadn't saved the Empress so they could let her rot away in prison and, somehow, that fact made my blood boil. Was it weird, considering that – to all the people I knew in my world – this was just a video game? At the moment, however, this fictional place seemed very, _very_ realistic to me.

"Exactly our thoughts," Havelock confirmed with a nod. "We believe that Burrows is behind it. We think he framed her to claim the throne and remove himself from the list of suspects. He's always been looking for more power. Now her has it."

"The Empresses' execution is in three days," Pendleton continued calmly. "The men we sent to free her never made it out of the sewers, and our contact among the prison guards was killed by one of Burrow's men last week. We have not enough resources to bribe the remaining guards or organize a massive rescue mission."

 _Damn it!_ I cursed. Someone had to get the Empress out of Coldridge Prison. Someone who knew their way around, knew what to expect and where to hide. Someone like Corvo.

"What about the Lord Protector?" I asked with a frown. "What happened to him?"

"He'll face execution in two days," Havelock answered grimly. "We're also looking to free him but they're holding him in one of the high security cells – probably scared he'll run off. He could be a valuable asset in the future, considering that he is a trained protector – among other things."

In other words, while I had indeed saved the Empress, I'd triggered other events that had led to both Jessamine and Corvo facing execution. I didn't know which outcome was worse; a living Empress, imprisoned just like her Lord Protector, and about to die with little hope of getting out alive. Or a dead Empress and only Corvo imprisoned but a good chance to escape his fate to rescue Emily.

"Where is Emily?" I asked, suddenly aware of the fact that, if both her parents were in prison, someone else had to be taking care of the girl.

To be honest, I had expected Havelock to be more reluctant to talk about their plans, but either the Loyalists were in a very desperate situation, or the guy really was more approachable.

Pendleton certainly wasn't sure whether he could trust me but seemed to have an awful lot of respect for the old Admiral.

"We don't know," stated Pendleton simply. "No one knows the young Lady's whereabouts. Many believe her to be dead. The chances of survival for a girl of her age and heritage are, to be honest, almost non-existent."

"The Lord Regent is still looking for Lady Emily," added Havelock. "He will not rest until he finds her – dead or alive. Should she live, she'd be a major threat to his position."

"So," I concluded slowly. "We first find a way to break Corvo and the Empress out of Coldridge Prison and then search for Emily Kaldwin to end Burrow's regency?"

The other men first looked at me, then at each other.

"I do not know who you are or where you are from, young lady," Lord Pendleton said coolly. "But Coldridge Prison is a highly secure building. Nobody has ever succeeded in breaking out or in. Without a guard working for us, we have absolutely no chance of rescuing the Empress."

I frowned, thinking his words over for a moment. It was a bold decision, reckless even, but the Outsider had talked about giving me a second chance to _'push things in the right direction'_. Had he meant for me to rescue Emily? Or was it the Empress and Corvo? Maybe both?

All I was certain of was the fact that I was responsible for their fate. I still didn't understand how playing a video game could possibly result in such kind of chaos – especially when I was sure that other players had done the same and had apparently gotten away with it.

Taking a deep breath, I hesitated a moment before opening my mouth again, though I immediately knew that I was going to regret my decision later on.

"I may or may not have been in Coldridge Prison once," I slowly stated, watching the two men curiously to see their reaction. "Not as a prisoner though…"

 _Oh God, Val, what are you doing? Playing a video game doesn't make you capable of breaking into a real-life prison!_ I was practically volunteering for a suicide mission, but the words were out now and I couldn't take them back.

My heart was racing, my belly doing double flips at the thought of having to fight against an entire horde of guardsmen in what was probably the best secured prison in the Isles. I wasn't sure why I'd made that suggestion but, apparently, my brain hat yet to fully comprehend that I was no longer playing a character in a virtual world.

"That," Lord Pendleton said. "Is highly unlikely."

He didn't believe me, which was good in a way because then I just might have the slight chance of getting out of possibly having to break into Coldridge Prison. On the other hand, if I was completely honest with myself, the thought of an adventure also had its charms – who hasn't ever dreamed of being part of something big? Especially now that I'd been thrown into this bizarre world of fictional places, characters and strange magic.

Whoever this new Valerie was, she was definitely crazy, with a strong tendency toward suicide – because what I was about to suggest was dangerous, reckless and could possibly cost me my life.

"I'm telling the truth," I said more steadily than before, fully intent on seeing this through. It was my fault that Corvo and the Empress had ended up in prison and the Outsider had brought me here believing that I could somehow set things right. Even if my brain screamed bloody murder to shut up and retreat, my heart stubbornly refused to comply. "I know the sewers near Coldridge Prison. I can tell you where the traps are and where to look out for guards. Unless they have changed the locations of the underground City Watch dramatically in the last four years, I'll know my way around."

Havelock narrowed his eyes. Apparently, he seemed to seriously consider my offer.

"How much combat experience do you have?" he asked.

"That would be my only problem," I admitted. "I've never even held a blade in my life – if you don't count kitchen knives…"

Playing Dishonored, the only thing I'd had to do was click the left mouse button and Corvo would swing his sword. In real life, however, I wasn't going to have the same options as I'd actually have to move my arms – and I wasn't sure, if I was even capable of killing another human being, enemy or not.

"You're not honestly considering – ," Pendleton said. "With all due respect, but I cant see her getting within four miles of the prison."

"She's our only option, Treavor," Havelock pointed out, scratching his chin. "Burrows is hunting us down, one after the other. I'm sure Valerie wouldn't offer herself for the task, if she weren't capable of completing it. She doesn't strike me as the type of person who'd overestimate their skills. Not like Harvey, the fool. Got himself killed for nothing."

 _If only you knew_ , I thought to myself but nodded in agreement. I had no idea who Harvey was, he hadn't been a character in the game, but must have been part of the loyalist movement.

"I'll let Piero know that we have a new recruit who needs some equipment," Havelock said matter-of-factly. "Meanwhile, you should get some sleep, young lady. Wallace will show you to your room. I know you just woke up in the sewers down there, but resting in a proper bed can do wonders. Believe me. We'll talk again tomorrow and I'll show you how to use Piero's equipment. Until then," he stood up, giving me a pat on the shoulder. "Have a good night's sleep, Valerie."

I watched Havelock leave the Pub, closely followed by a grim looking Lord Pendleton.

"I will show you to your room when you're ready, young lady," Wallace said when we were alone in the room.

"Thank you, Wallace," I replied politely, not wanting to make enemies on my first day in Dunwall. "Oh, and thanks for the food, it was lovely."

He nodded stiffly and patiently waited for me to follow him up the stairs.

The Hound Pits Pub looked exactly like the in-game version. From the bar with its shelves and drinks, to the tables, chairs and every bit of dust and garbage. I briefly wondered, if I'd find the same amount of coins, books and notes around as well or if these things had changed now that Dunwall was no longer a place of fiction.

We ascended the stairs and I had the sudden urge to sneak away and explore the building on my own. Somehow, the third floor was accessible in 1841 and it took all my willpower to keep following Wallace to my chambers.

On second thought, however, bursting into someone else's room probably wasn't the brightest of ideas anyway. No-one would want a stranger in their private quarters searching their belongings for valuables.

We reached the final floor and Wallace, who'd opened the door for me, waited outside until I gave him a nod and he excused himself. It was a little bit weird to have servant at my service but I'd have to get used to it, if I was going to stay in Dunwall.

I was surprised that they'd given me Corvo's chambers, then again neither Havelock nor Pendleton knew what I did about Hiram Burrows and his betrayal. They weren't aware of the fact that I occupied the bed of Dishonored's protagonist. The room itself was a mirror image of the in-game version; a small bed right next to the door with a nightstand, an empty shelf and whale oil lanterns on the floor. I even found ten coins under the pillow.

 _Maybe I can use these to purchase upgrades for my gear – unless they have a completely different upgrading system as well…_

Sighing, I sat down on my new bed. The mattress was hard and the covers were damp, probably from the nearby river water, but it was better than having to sleep in the sewers.

I also realized that I'd have to leave my clothes on for tonight, hoping that I'd get something else to change into tomorrow.

Shrugging, I re-arranged the pillow and pulled the damp blanket up to my shoulders. I would also have to ask Wallace or one of the others how to turn off the whale oil lamps, but for now I was content to close my eyes and get some well deserved sleep.


End file.
